


the guide to being human

by Rebldomakr



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Harry Potter was Raised by Other(s), Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 19:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17452964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebldomakr/pseuds/Rebldomakr
Summary: During a game of Harry Hunting, Harry ends up in a forest.





	the guide to being human

**Author's Note:**

> unbetaed.

            The forest has been Harry’s home since he was seven. He had run away from his relatives, people that he only vaguely remembers know. Dudley, his cousin, had been chasing him and while Harry couldn’t remember exactly what punishment had been chosen for him if he was caught, he could remember the panic, fear, and adrenaline. He knows he had been kicked out of the house that day, too, by his aunt and uncle who chastised him for spilling a pan full of bacon grease on the kitchen floor. It goes without very much said to know that Harry does not miss his relatives, not even the tiniest bit. He found a new family and a new home in the forest.

Harry had found his way into the forest that day, years ago. He isn’t clear on how he ended up in the forest. One moment he had been running on cement, then the next he was crashing into a large tree. Then, he was found.

Elder Yew, or Mama as Harry prefers, is a nymph who possesses an ancient yew tree near the center of the forest. She is the oldest in the entire forest, so old that she still strongly remembers the days before the magicfolk and muggles had become enemies to the forest. The tree he had run into, was her very own. It was a little scary to watch a woman grow out of bark, even scarier when the woman started to scream obscenities at it for leaving a dent in her trunk.

After the screaming, Elder Yew told Harry to go back to the path and to find his way back to his kind. Harry had told her, “I don’t want to go.” Then, he had begun to cry. And after his crying, after the nymph picked him up and carried him inside of a den underneath her tree, after she fed him berries, he asked her if he could say.

“It’s probably not a good idea.” She said. “But you can stay.”

So, Elder Yew became Harry’s caretaker. She insists that she is Harry’s mother, in all but magic.

The years passed. Harry slept during the night in the den underneath his Mama’s tree. He helped her polish the shiny objects she’s collected throughout her years. Once he was done with that, he was awarded with fruits and sent on his way to a nearby centaur tribe with a bundle of sticks to trade. He gave them the sticks and they gave him whatever his Mama needed. Often, they gave him slabs of meat from the animals they hunted. Mama would cook the meat for him to eat. Other times, they gave him things like a bag full of dung that Mama liked to bury near her roots. She said that it was a good source of food for herself, though it was really more of an yummy treat since she got plenty from the ground already.

On the hot summer days, after trading and cleaning, and before eating his nighttime meal, Harry would join the naiads in the lake. There were only a three of them, each who changed their names rather frequently. At least he could tell them apart by the color of their hair and eyes. They taught him to swim and helped him always to clean off dirt and leaves, beguiling him to stay still with stories of the magicfolk who tried to seduce their ancestors.

Harry’s favorite is the story of the Ruby Naiad of Ruby Lake, who fought back against her very forceful suitor by spitting him into a nearby river that took him all the way to the ocean where her father, the Great Poseidon, drowned him. He mostly just liked the part of the Ruby Naiad explained how much her suitor disgusted her, which seemed to change every time and was often very obscene. As long as he didn’t repeat any of the words the naiads said, Mama didn’t mind him hanging around them.

The forest couldn’t always be his home. Harry knew this.

Harry is not a part of the forest. He is a human. More than that, he’s one of the magicfolk.

A naiad, the one with the brown eyes like mud, likes to tell him, “Don’t worry, sweetie, any naiad would take you as a lover.” It was her own way of saying that he might be a wizard, or whatever, but he’s better than all of them in her eyes. The other naiads always agreed, promising him that he’s always welcome to stay in their lake.

“I’ll drown if I stay with you guys when I’m older.” Harry has always said back.

He’s known that he would have to leave one day, but when that day comes, he still isn’t prepared.

Mama had gotten a letter exactly twenty-nine days ago from a school that taught young magicfolk, like him, how to use their magic. The centaurs knew immediately and had visited them with an owl, and told her, “You need to respond so he can go, before he grows into his poisonous instincts. He is human. He doesn’t belong here.”

She had responded and they responded back after four days, saying they would send someone to fetch Harry. They listed a date, which Harry didn’t really understand. He remembers days and months from living with his relatives, but he’s forgotten most. Mama told him what it meant and said they’d be here to get him very soon.

Very soon have been twenty-five days and Harry wishes it very soon had just been soon.

At the moment, Harry stands in front of a very large man who is introducing himself.

“Hagrid.” He says. “Pleasure to meet ya, ‘Arry!”

“Um,” Harry balances foot to foot and thinks a little hard on how to respond. “Hello, Hagrid. My name’s Harry.”

The man beams and Harry briefly thinks the smile, though a dirty and covered with a lot of hair, shines enough to rival the sun’s own beam. “Yer going ‘ave a lot of fun at Hogwarts, ‘Arry.” He says.

Harry shrugs. He doesn’t think he’ll like Hogwarts more than the forest. It won’t be home.

Mama places her hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Take care of him, wizard. He is my son.” She says, sounding stiff like how she talks when she’s giving advice or knowledge.

“Of course, ma’am.” Hagrid says, dutiful, and still very happy. “I knew ‘is parents. Good people, they were, think they’d be ‘appy to see you brought ‘im up good.” He sniffles a little, then, before he shakes off that brief interruption to his joy. “We better get goin’. Got a whole lot to do.”

Harry hugs Mama and promises to write, though it’s muffles since he squashes his face against her stomach. He’s trying very hard not to cry. She pets him gently and kisses the top of his head.

“Go on, my son.” She whispers. “You have your own world waiting for you.”

(LINE_BREAK)

Hagrid offers to carry the wooden box Harry’s struggling to hold as they step onto the clear path that Harry has always avoided. “Little ‘eavy for ya, I think.” The giant man says.

As much as Harry hates to agree, wishing to hold onto the box, he gives up and nods. “Please.” He says. It’s taken out of his hands and Hagrid easily carries it, like there’s nothing inside of it.

“These yer things, then?” Hagrid asks.

Harry nods. Now they are. Inside of the box is just some of the things he’d help Mama polish every day. Things to remember her by, always, even when he gets as far from home as he could possibly get.

**Author's Note:**

> This? I'm probably going to delete soon, if I choose to continue this anyways. For now this is a test run to see if anyone cares about this AU idea.
> 
> Tbch it'd just be a slow burn fic that lands in with HPLV with a natural dose of the fucked up shit that I love


End file.
